Shogun of Steel Nibunoichi
by Li Kune Xin
Summary: Over the smoldering battlefield of post apocalyptic Japan, a meteor illuminates the desolate sky. Its brilliance reveals it to be a mysterious craft from the heavens, carrying a child of the stars, raised to become an Anything Goes Master.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I've taken inspiration and copied many parts of the comic "Shogun of Steel by Ben Raab" and Rumiko Takahasi's Ranma1/2. Please don't sue me... I just needed a vent for this merger... it's been boiling in my brain for sometime now. I hope you readers enjoy it.

Shogun of Steel 1/2

by: Li Kune Xin

Centuries of territorial disputes, interracial hatred and internecine warfare ended with a ravaged world. The islands of Japan were no exception. The countries were divided. The people, fractured. Vulnerable.

To this place of chaos a shadow came from beyond. Like the night, it descended upon the face of the world and eclipsed the light of the rising sun. All was darkness. Faced with annihilation, the most powerful countries at last agreed to put aside their differences and ally their warring factions under a single banner. Perhaps united as one they might stand where alone they would most certainly fall. But their union was far too little, far too late. For mighty though their armies were... Far mightier was the dread Lord Zunou, the shogun of Steel. One by one, the leaders died. And with them, the spirit of this proud people. All that was once theirs now belonged to the Shogun. Their lands. Their homes. Their women, Their children. And as it seemed for fifteen seemingly endless years... their future...

--

The night sky was a deep royal blue mixed with the orange glow of light pollution. No stars shone in this inky blanket. It overlooked the war scarred island of Japan. In a shadowy back-alley of suburban Tokyo, a woman stood staring at the busy little lives of the people. She faced a dilapidated shack that called itself a bar. Couples walked hand in hand but quickly and without drawing any attention, drunkards laid passed out in the dirt in their own vomit.

"A creature of Magic? In a bar?" she asked the shadow behind her. The moon came out of hiding and illuminated the face a cute but battle worn youth. He had long brown hair, held back in a ponytail with a blue ribbon. On his back he carried a giant Spatula.

"An unlikely place for such a being, I know..." he replied.

"According to the rumors circulating about him, he likes to keep a low profile. Can't get any lower that this, I imagine..."

The woman's eyes frowned and her lips pursed. She said, "And you're certain he'll be of use to us? You've seen what he can do?"

With conviction and a bit of admiration the youth replied, "What I've seen was nothing short of miraculous."

"Good." said the woman, "We could use a miracle..."

As the pair entered the establishment, they could smell the odor of liquor mixed with urine. The place was roaring with cheers and cantankerous laughter. The woman's eyes roamed the room like a hunter looking for her prey. With a nudge from her companion she looked to the shadows and saw a small person sitting alone with a long cloth-wrapped bundle on the table in front of him. She headed to the bar and heard her friend order two beers. Two dirty glasses with some warm yellow fluid was slammed in front of her. She drank it slowly while trying not to look at the man in the shadows.

Suddenly the bar went silent. At the entrance of the bar stood a group of what passes for law enforcement these days. Six uniformed men, armed to the teeth with all sorts of weapons came in. They were lead by a large muscular man with a huge gut. He walked towards the back of the room as the sea of patrons parted in fear. Even then many were shoved out of the way for being too slow, their drink crashing to the sticky floors. These men had a reputation for terrible violence in this prefecture.

"You there! In the hood!" grunted the leader, "You have something that belongs to me!"

The stranger replied in a sweet innocent voice, "I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else, friend."

"Like hell I do!" shouted the rotund officer.

He pointed to the bundle and said, "That sword! I stole it from some old couple back in Juuban, after Lord Zunou's men torched the place! Someone stole it from me while I was passed out last night! I think it was you, and I want it back!"

In a cool voice, the hooded person replied, "If you're so confident it's yours, why don't you just take it? I'll even count to three so you know when to reach for it."

"One...two..."

The lumbering giant of a man lunged for it. He was surprisingly fast for a man of his size. His hand grasped the sword, but the cloth fell limply in his hand. He looked up in front of him and the thief in the shadows was gone. He quickly turned around and saw his foe a few paces behind him with the sword in his hand. It was a simple katana with a dark leather grip. The pommel was simple, but for the serpentine ruby dragon embedded into its surface.

The portly officer said, "Hey!" With a schrrip, his pants pooled around his ankles.

The crowd began to murmur, "How the hell...?! didn't even see him move...! No man's that fast...!"

The hooded man, dangled the sword by his fingers and taunted, "I never said Three."

The fat policeman grimaced with embarrassment and hate and tried to pull his pants back up. "That smart mouth of yours is gonna get you killed boy! Kill him!"

One of his pocy in sunglasses pulled a sword and charged the man. Quick, vicious strokes rained towards his opponent. But all were dodged with a fluid grace that seemed unreal. He did all this while maneuvering around chairs and other obstacles. Suddenly he was within the swordsman's guard and he tossed the officer through the wooded walls of the bar.

Two other henchmen pulled out their semi-automatic pistols and opened fire. With a sweep of the sword, the small thief deflected their bullets. The men looked on in horror and fear and bolted out of the bar. On their way out they rushed pass the lady and her associate.

The spatula shinobi asked, "Impressed?"

"Not yet." replied the woman in an impassive voice.

With a scream another policeman leapt at the thief with a giant hammer. With but a stare, the hammer head melted and through the man off balance. The thief then nudged his assailant into a wall.

The remaining henchman looked on in apprehension with sweat dripping from his forehead. He finally pulled together his courage and pulled out his sai's. The thief cocked his head and smirked. Soon after, the sai-weilding henchman was sent crashing through the bar windows.

Now the thief had the bossman pinned to the wall by the tip of the katana. He gazed at the fat man and said, "That "OLD COUPLE" from Juuban...? The ones you stole this from...? They raised me like their SON."

"She forge forged this sword for me with her own two hands. Just like he made me the person I am today."

And in a gust of wind, the fat man was thrown into the air. All he heard while falling was, "And as you can see...I'm not ORDINARY."

The fat man looked down and he saw that he was suspended by his shirt fifteen feet off the ground, while the bar crowd stared agap from below. All of a sudden the crowd sucummed to their fear and the tavern was cleared out amist screams of "AIIIEEE!", "He's a DEMON!", and "Ruuun!!"

All that was left was the lady and her shinobi looking up with grins. The lady covered her mouth and said, "OhHohohoho! Now I'm impressed."


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I've taken inspiration and copied many parts of the comic "Shogun of Steel by Ben Raab" and Rumiko Takahasi's Ranma1/2. Please don't sue me... I just needed a vent for this merger... it's been boiling in my brain for sometime now. I hope you readers enjoy it. 

Shogun of Steel 1/2

by: Li Kune Xin

In this twisted post apocalyptic mirror of our world, life is typically in the grasp of those who can exploit the weak. Fifteen years under the yoke of the tyrant Zunou, has almost crushed the spirits of human race. However, there are a few individuals who fight back in anyway possible. But even they see the enormous task of dethroning the ultra powerful Shogun of Steel. So they look for a miracle to light their way out of the darkness of the times. And they might have just found that miracle.

--

Back in a little seedy bar in the back alleys of post war Tokyo, the lady and the spatula shinobi looked at the quivering mass of the police captain. He was broken physically and psychologically. The sorry sight prompted flashbacks of a little girl crying on her knees as a daimyo and his daughter were brutally slain. The shinobi turned to his lady and said, "Lady Kuno, he's leaving."

The lady blinked away the glistening tears from her eyes and said, "Very well then."

So they left the bar to quickly catch up to the amazing fighter. As they approached from behind, the hooded stranger slowed his pace and his muscles tensed minutely. Lady Kuno began with, "That was pretty amazing what you did in there."

The hooded stranger replied, 'Well I am the best. But that ain't nothing to compare to the degree to which people have sunk in these trying times thanks to that cursed Shogun."

The spatula shinobi answered, "There are some who believe it can be brought to an end, hun. That the Shogun can be overthrown! They're out there, in the shadows, fighting for the people, fighting for Japan."

Lady Kuno added, "You could be one of them."

The stranger pulled away his hood and revealed a gorgeous redhead with piercing blue eyes. She replied sternly, "But I'm NOT!"

With those parting words, she leapt into the night sky, leaving Lady Kuno and her shinobi staring into the darkness. Little did either know that they where also being watch from the shadows by two inconspicuous men in trench coats.

--

According to the Japanese Constitution, the Emperor or Tenno, literally means "heavenly sovereign". He is a symbol of the Japanese nation and the unity of its people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. Under Japan's constitution, the emperor is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy. Before the great apocalypse, the emperor was His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Showa Hirohito. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been located on the former site of the Donjon of Edo in the heart of Tokyo.

The role of the emperor of Japan has historically alternated between that of a supreme-rank cleric with largely symbolic powers and that of an actual imperial ruler. Many still regards the emperor as being descended from gods. Despite this Japanese emperors have nearly always been controlled by other political forces, to varying degrees. This is no longer the case, a true being from the heavens arrived to Japan and swept all oppositions away. He named himself the Shogun of Steel and sent out his minions who wrested control of the world in a year. He now controls the world from the Chrysanthemum Throne.

It is upon this Throne that he sits and mold the world in his image guarded by stoic and ruthless samurai soldiers. The throne room is now an ornate but sterile feeling room. The only thing that seems alive is the man dressed in an exquisite blue hakama that sits that the right side of the Shogun. He has the profile of nobility and the body of an athlete. His eyes speak of danger and his taut frame emphasizes' it. He turned to the Shogun and said, "Zunou-sama, we have captured another rebel."

The Shogun remained impassive. The light of the room glistened off his metallic face mask, but none could see his eyes. An imperial robe was draped about his form, hiding the lines of his body. "Very well Lord Kuno, bring the filth in." replied the Shogun.

A menacing samurai with glowing eyes, dragged a bundle of flesh and cloth to kneel before the Shogun. The man was beaten to within an inch of his life, his blood stained the tatami floor. Lord Kuno looked to the man and said, "Your thieving accomplice may have escaped, peasant, but he won't get far with the slash I put in his pack. Now, unless you'd like to share his fate, you'll tell us everything you know about these so-called Rebels..."

The man coughed and speckled the floor anew with his blood. "I know nothing of any rebellion! I swear to you! We just needed the weapons to fend off bandits!" said the man, clearly in pain.

Kuno look to the Shogun and said, "Lies, Eminence. This one will clearly say anything to save his own skin."

The Shogun kept staring that the rebel and said, "A common trait I've noticed among your people, Tatewaki. But there are always two truths. The one we know to be true, and the one we know to be false. You need never look too deeply to discern which is which."

The rebel looked up at the Shogun with his good right eye.

The Shogun leaned forward and said, "This one's guilt is etched upon his face. And his mind..."

All of a sudden, the rebel leaned back and screamed, all the while clutching at his head as though it might explode. His eyes were clenched in excruciating pain. Blood began to trickle from his eyes, nose, and ears. An just as it started, it suddenly stop. The man was face down on the floor trembling in pain. He cocked his head at Kuno and gave him an accusing glare. "First your hnnh Emperor, Kuno, and now your guhh people...?! Your treachery ... will be visited upon you ... a thousand fold..."

With that said, the man expelled his last breath and collapsed.

The Shogun was now standing beside a horrified Kuno. Kuno look to his lord and said, "You uncovered the truth, Zunou-sama?"

"Of course..." replied the Shogun, "He knew nothing."

As the rebel was being dragged away, a couple of servants came in to clean the blood off the floor. They seemed unaffected by the sight, as if this was a daily occurrence. Minutes later two men in trench coats came in and kneeled in front of the Shogun. As they kneeled, katanas could be seen by their side.

The first one spoke, "Milord, we have found the one you seek. The man with abilities far beyond those of mortal men."

The second man continued, "His flesh is hard as metal, his eyes burn like dragon fire and he flies like the eagle."

The Shogun began scratching his chin. In a whisper he said, "So he did survive after all..."

Kuno being close enough to hear, said, "A flying man? Preposterous!"

The Shogun said, "There are wonders in this universe beyond your limited comprehension, Tatewaki. Would you deny something your lord and master tells you to accept as fact?"

The Shogun then pointed to a shrine of Buddha that reverently held an old skull, "Or do you wish to hasten the reunion with your Emperor?"

The Shogun then began walking toward the balcony adjoining the throne room. He calmly looked out at the glowing lights of Tokyo. Kuno was quick to follow.

"Sumimasen, one-gai-shimasu, Excellence!" said Kuno while holding his bow, "I meant no impudence..."

The Shogun replied, "If you value your pitiful existence, retainer, you will not only find this man and bring him to me... you will silence the buzzing of those rebellious gnats once and for all! Otherwise, your precious wife Akane will meet the same fate as that of your sister."


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I've taken inspiration and copied many parts of the comic "Shogun of Steel by Ben Raab" and Rumiko Takahasi's Ranma1/2. Please don't sue me... I just needed a vent for this merger... it's been boiling in my brain for sometime now. I hope you readers enjoy it. 

Shogun of Steel 1/2

by: Li Kune Xin

She was born the youngest daughter to a prominent Daimyo from the Nerima prefecture near the outskirts of Tokyo. She left the womb with a fiery cry and her parents named her Akane or Dark Red. She was born into a world at war. After the third World War, Japan had reverted to the old Shogunate system. In doing so, they assured their survival and have become a force in the new world order. The country had just begun to rebuild.

Her mother died of cancer and she was raised by her two older sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki. But when Lord Zunou came on the scene, it was Lord Tendo that united the Japanese factions to hold off the invader from beyond the sea. At the tender age of five, Akane watched her household march off to defend the land of the rising sun. And it was with her own two eyes, she watched them die. Slain by the Shogun of Steel. That day, daddy's little Kane died as well, and the warrior who will be known as Komori was born. The vengeful Bat..."

--

JANUARY 12th

"We're beginning our final descent to Tokyo city. Please return seats and trays to their upright positions..."

From here, it's clean shafts of concrete and snowy rooftops. The work or men who died generations ago. From here, it looks like an achievement. I should have taken the train. I should be closer. I should see the enemy.

Akane Kuno walked the halls of the airport with a wagon train of luggage behind her. The bright walls of the airport, belies the darkness in the world beyond. In her red and white kimono, she walks the gauntlet of newsies, ignoring their calls.

"... Welcome home Mrs. Kuno..."

"... How's it feel to be back ..."

"... divorcing Lord Kuno..."

"...any truth to the rumors..."

"...any plans Mrs. Kuno..."

"The twenty-five year-old wife of the Retainer to Lord Zunou declined to comment on rumors of her family life...or her plans on her return to Tokyo after twelve years abroad. We'll keep you posted on Japan's cultural ambassador and native daughter... back to you Hiroshi."

Akane exited the limousine to the attentive welcome of the diminutive ninja Sasuke.

"I trust you've been well, Kuno-sama."

Akane quirked a smile and said, "Sasuke."

Kuno Manor. Built as a fortress generations past, to protect a fading line of royalty from the world falling apart.

MARCH 7th

The engine of a brown Chevy hums, gently, not quite convinced it should stop. Everything is in place. The attendant was even obliging enough to ask me for my autograph. My alibi is set. Akane Kuno has been sighted at the same hotel as a visiting Hollywood warlord. That should generate sufficient rumors... to account for my whereabouts for the next few hours.

Funny how life is. At sixteen she caught the eye of Lord Kuno's son. His vast fortune was very tempting to the rebellion.

So far disrupting supply shipments here and there was having no effect. They needed more. By day she was the diligent wife of Tatewaki "Blue Thunder" Kuno, secretly gathering information for the cause. By night she became Komori, the spirit of vengence.

--

The cool air hung still over the remnants of old Tokyo. The orange glow of the setting sun contrasted with the deep blue of the shadows in the alleyways. Suddenly the screeching of tires could be heard. Thump! An old transient goes flying to the curb. A green jalopy of four men rolls along, its occupants laughing and having a great time. "Alright Sano! Let's find another one."

Upon the rooftops lurked a shadow, perched on the ledge like a gargoyle. It leaps in the air, the wind rushes past, whipping the cape open. Whumppp! She lands on their car, her cape covering their windshield. She can smell their fear ... and it is sweet.

"... What the hell is..."

"... can't see..."

"... slow down ..."

"... stop the car ..."

"... but what is that ..."

"... it'll get us ..."

"... hit the brakes!"

Ssskkkreeech! She leaps on the out of control car, not giving the driver enough time to swerve away from the on-coming

wall. Crash! The car barrels straight into the brick wall, flipping over onto its roof. Thanks to their airbags, three of the occupants climb out.

"Oh my god, oh my god," rants one of the men, "Sano's leg..."

"Leave him! That was Komori!" screamed another.

"Komori?"

The remaining men run off into the adjacent, abandoned building with their weapons. The shadow known as Komori walked by the car. Four of them. One in the car, leg broken, in shock. She overhears the criminals saying, "... couldn't be Komori.

Zuka said he killed Komori."

"Zuka says lots." whispered the other.

"Quiet." said their leader.

The other three are armed... and smart enough to hang close together. But they're scared. They hear a clinking sound in the corner. They open fire into the shadows.

"I don't like this... you got a spare clip?" chirped one.

"Get you own god damn clip." screamed the leader.

The wooden floorboard beneath began to creek louder. Suddenly a gloved hand burst through and grabs one of the men's legs. All he could hear was, "Welcome to hell." before he was pulled through the floor, screaming.

The others started shooting through the floor. Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The gunmen looked through the hole, when in a silver flash, a bat-shaped shuriken embedded itself into his shoulder. The fast acting drug, dropped the man in seconds.

The boss began to babble. "... kill him, I'll kill him!"

The last ones usually lose it. So she lets him. She lets him come to her. Komori plays the shadows as she watches him come down the stairs. He makes a lot of noise. His breathing is erratic. He is almost on top of her, his gun pointing in her direction. There are four attacks from this position in Anything Goes style. Two of them disarm with minimal contact. One

to kill, and the other... she whip her body like a springing trap and lands a side kick to the man's hips... it hurts. She felt the man's pelvis shatter under the force of the kick... she always did have a lot of strength. He's crippled for the moment...but he's young, he'll probably walk again.

The moon comes out of hiding and the light shines upon his chest. It twinkles with a golden light. Trouble. They're Zunou's social police.

--

"... reports that Komori has been surrounded by Tokyo's social police after she attacked two officers..."

"...the terrorist is now trying to hide in an abandoned tenement off Ikebukero... gunfire has been heard ... and explosions... Now there is tense silence... eyewitnesses say a heavily armed SWAT team has entered the building."


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I've taken inspiration and copied many parts of the comic "Shogun of Steel by Ben Raab" and Rumiko Takahasi's Ranma 1/2. Please don't sue me... I just needed a vent for this merger... it's been boiling in my brain for sometime now. I hope you readers enjoy it. 

Shogun of Steel 1/2

by: Li Kune Xin

My name is Sasuke. I have been in the employ of the Kuno family for nearly all my adult life. And I have told no one of this story until now...

As a ninja, spying was a mission that I did frequently. Due to young Lord Kuno's obsession with Akane, I spent many a day in the shadows of the Tendo compound. The Tendo family were good people and well loved rulers. They were the bright hope in the perpetual gloom of post-war Japan. Day's like today I cannot imagine the woman Akane would have become had her childhood not been ripped away by the edge of a sword.

Suddenly orphaned and alone, a chilling event took place. She would not grieve. She would not waste time wishing away the event. There was only her promise.

That very night when the blood of her father and sisters soaked into the forest floor, she would make a vow to rid the world of the evil that had taken their lives. Most would have thought this a death wish, some who knew little Akane would think it a fool's errand. But none was privy to the thoughts of this one determined girl.

Using the remaining wealth of the Tendo's and later that of the Kuno's, Lady Akane sought out the world's greatest minds. She honed her body into a weapon of death. Knowing the cowardly and superstitious nature of Lord Zunou's minions, she donned a cape and cowl and emerged from the cocoon as a creature of the night... the shadow known as Komori.

But I will always remember the little girl, lost, struggling to make up for not being able to save her family. When I found her at the downfall of the resistance lead by Soun Tendo, my heart and soul felt for her. I knew that I would offer my life for this child, but I couldn't offer her what I feared she would need. Love.

--

The Tokushu Kyushu Butai (Special Assault Team - SAT) is the SWAT team equivalent of the Japanese National Police Agency. They were a counter-terrorist branch of the police force, but under Zunou, they have become a group of elite blood thirsty thugs with assault weapons. Many of them use PCPs to ramp up their aggression and blood lust. The Shogun sends them to crush any rebellious groups. Long gone are the days of Riot police, only death awaits those who oppose the Shogun.

The heavily armoured SAT wagon pulled up to an old abandoned tenement. The back door opened and out came an athletic young man wearing the black armoured uniform of the Tokushu Kyushu Butai. His name was Eikichi Honda, he was fresh out of training and was hungry for his first kill. He rushed out of the van and lined up with his squad. He anxiously checked and re-checked his shotgun. This was going to be fun he thought.

With his shogun around his neck, Eikichi flattened himself against the outside wall. Jiro Jackson, his partner, was on the other side of the door, getting ready to open it. The rest of the team was lined up with weapons raised. Eikichi pulled the pin out of the flashbang, whirled it and threw it in the air. Jiro flung the door open inwardly, and Eikichi chucked the grenade in with a small underhand throw. The pin clattered against the floor as the grenade bounced into the stairwell, disrupting aging dust. Eikichi turned back flat against the wall, looking away. Another clatter of the grenade skittering inside, then silence. An instant later the flash grenade exploded in a ringing sound, as if your ears were trying to pop open, but couldn't.

Bang! The flashbang illuminated the stairwell. The squad leader motioned with slight hand signals to his team. Two darkly clad SAT officers rushed through the rusty door with the molding green paint. The floor groaned slightly from their presence and their weapons hummed in anticipation. Eikichi could feel sweat mat through his gloves and face mask. His heart hammered with adrenaline and his eyes gleamed in the dark. With a deep breath, he leaned against the side of the door away from the hinges. The two at the front motioned that the stairs were clear. Holding his MP5 at the ready, the leader waved the man behind him up the stairs. It was Jiro. Jiro approached, creeping carefully up, attempting to remain silent. This was near impossible in this piece of shit apartment complex. Everywhere were rusted nails and molding paint and creaking floors.

'Why wasn't this dump torn to the ground? It made the job annoying.' Thought Eikichi.

Officer Honda could imagine the sweat drenched, bloodshot eyes of his team staring at him through their ski mask. They knew who was their target was. Few took Komori lightly and survived. Training for this was nothing like the real thing, and he was hoping for days now to get some action. His squad mate showed more of the stairwell with his UV flashlight. Their night-vision goggles were adjusted to 350 nanometers. It was an important tactical advantage against most foes.

The team crested the stairs and cleared the hallway.

"Go go go!" said the leader. They kicked the doors in, and rushed in the rooms. Honda and Jiro went left. Honda hurled another flashbang into the closest room and rushed into the room, shotgun up at eye level with the tactical UV light on. The room was a dusty mess, thanks to the flashbang. A small broken television layed in the corner, in front of a window with the shades drawn. Old newspapers littered the area, but other than that, nothing.

"Clear." Honda announced to his over the short range comm.

The squad leader could hear shouts of 'Clear!' from his team in the other rooms. The other four members came up behind Honda and Jiro after they cleared the rest of the floor, their weapons held up.

"Red, go. Blue, cover." The squad leader hissed the orders. Eikichi kept his shotgun pointed at the door as he heard the shuffle of boots. "Ready."

The SAT repeated this tactic all the way up the building, finding only trash and rat shit. The leader turned to the wall, and pulled up his radio that was attached to his body armor. "Ok, target is gone. Notify the regulars, he may still be somewhere in the area."

With a sigh, Officer Honda pulled his ski mask off, the sweat pouring out with it. He felt the adrenaline flowing through him. He huffed in disappointment along with relief. He surveyed the area. His leader was arguing with the dispatch on the radio, and the rest of his squad mates were over in the other rooms, looking around the area. Then a creak of the ceiling, and suddenly a shadow fell onto the floor behind the leader without making a sound. Eikichi fumbled for his shotgun, and suddenly the shadow held his leader in a neck lock with bat-shaped blade under the squad leader's chin. Komori was using his leader's body as a shield. Finally gripping his shotgun, he pulled up the sights, holding it on the shadow hidden behind his leaders' face.

"Drop the weapon, now!" Eikichi Honda heard himself shout. Blood and drugs pumped through him, his hands would not keep the shotgun steady no matter how hard he tried. He heard shouts form the other room, and the scuffle of boots on the floorboards. Shouts erupted into a fit of chaos.

"Drop the weapon!"

"Get down! Put your fucking hands up now!"

"I'll blow your head off! Put the gun down now!"

The lights from the tac-lights on the end of their guns shone on the squad leader. "Eikichi, shoot this fuck!" His leader muffled through the strangled grasp, "shoot him!"

Suddenly the night sky was ripped open by a flash of lightning. Eikichi heard the clatter of a pin, and then pure white. A deafening roar, a ringing in his ears, followed by screaming. His eyes were searing, and he ripped off his goggles.

"Shte!"

Through the ringing, he heard gunfire.

"Where is- "

"Aaaaarr-!"

Eikichi felt himself hit the floor. He couldn't stop blinking, and he could only see white, only feel burning. He was screaming. The ringing had stopped, but he was screaming. He wasn't holding his shotgun anymore. He blinked more, tears streaming down his face. A blurry vision of the floor started to take shape among the white pain. He moved his head slowly, his ears hurt horribly from the ringing. He could feel the beat of his pulse in his ears like the galloping hooves of a horserace. It wouldn't stop, it made his head hurt more. His squad mates layed around the floor, unmoving. His leader layed off to his right, where the man was last, with multiple holes throughout his body.

With a shake, Eikichi stumbled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. The room was spinning out of control. Whatever Komori used, it must have jarred his inner ear. A gust of wind hit him, along with drips of rain. The window. It was open. Eikichi blinked some more, his vision was still blurred. A shadow crouched in the window-frame, its cape whipping around in the wind. Piercing white eyes turned to face him for a moment. With that one glance, Komori turned, and jumped out the window. Eikichi groaned and stumbled clumsily forward, and nearly fell out the window. His legs wouldn't stay straight. His vision cleared just in time to see a giant, winged bat creature glide on the night winds in a cloud of bats. Rain poured down the railing onto the noisy street below. People were shouting, sirens blaring, and officers scrambling. Eikichi nearly threw up right there from nausea. Komori disappeared into the shadows of the night, absorbed into the abyss.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I've taken inspiration and copied many parts of the comic "Shogun of Steel by Ben Raab" and Rumiko Takahasi's Ranma1/2. Please don't sue me... I just needed a vent for this merger... it's been boiling in my brain for sometime now. I hope you readers enjoy it.

Author's Note: I've always felt that writing a story was hard work. It seems to be right. I'm finding it hard to continue this story. It's been 10 months since my last update, but he it is.

Shogun of Steel 1/2

by: Li Kune Xin

He breathed in the ocean air. It's salty tang biting as much into his eyes as into his soul. He was a failure as a husband and as a man. When he first met Nodoka, it was as though the grueling years under his dreadful Master was but a painful dream. The feeling that he became aware of as love, seared his heart at every glimpse of her. Their courtship was brief and intense in its passion. They were quickly married and for a time, Genma knew love and tenderness.

Sadly, it was not to last. After, three years of trying, they soon realized that the tree of their marriage bore no fruit. It caused a rift in their union that no amount of love could mend. Nodoka easily played the part of dutiful wife, but the passion was forced. The tenderness was gone. Genma began feeling again the wanderlust that so ruined his youth.

In a sign of complete desperation, Genma made a deal with the devil incarnate. He went back to his demon of a Master for help. After a long and humiliating cackle, the Master was happy to help. But there was a price for the fearsome old man's help. He had to put his child under the tutelage of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Genma had promised Nodoka that he would never put their child through such trauma, but Genma had no other choice. He agree to the old man's pack on his honour.

The shriveled devil of a man that in the year of the fire horse, a dragon would fall out of the sky over Okinawa. If Genma made a wish as the dragon flew across the sky, it would come true. And so, Genma left Nodoka and Tokyo, promising to bring back a son to complete their family.

That is the story of how Genma finds himself on a beach overlooking the Pacific and living off mother nature's bounty. He missed Nodoka's cooking, the things he prepared were barely edible. He stared at the fire, feeling sorry for himself, when suddenly he smelled Nodoka's perfume. He looked up around and then into the night sky and that was when he saw it ... the Great Dragon.

With a mighty rumbling that shook the sea, and a deafening roar that cracked the heavens, it streaked across the sky. Genma coward under a palm tree. In the midst of gut-wrenching fear, he remembered the Master's words and closed his eyes and made his heart's wish.

The Dragon came crashing ashore that shook the earth like the stomping of the Great Susano-O. Trees collapsed as the ground shook and shook. Then all became still, the birds and animals began to sing again. They praised the Dragon for their survival.

It is said that the Beast brings luck and good fortune to all those worthy of its gift. So Genma headed towards the Dragon, in the hope that perhaps he, too, would be somehow blessed. To his eternal surprise, he was.

There withing a vast devastation of scorched earth and molten glass, laid a Dragon's egg. As Genma approached, the egg hatched. And inside he found a blessing beyond his wildest imaginings. For nestled safely within that gleaming orb, the gift of divine providence ... he found a son.

--

The Bayankala Mountains form the great divide between China's Yellow River on its north and Yangtze River on its south. Situated in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest peak reaches an altitude of 5267 m. A dark haired pigtailed boy, finds himself back on this familiar dirt road. The landscape is bleak. The only thing that can survive the thin mountain air is grass, birds and yaks. The low vegetation allows you to see the peaks of the Bayankala mountains. The boy seems un -phased by the cold mountain winds. His name is Ranma Saotome, he is the heir of the Anything Goes Martial Arts. He stops and looks up at the clear blue sky and thinks, 'the sky is so high, could I ever touch them if I wanted to.'

After days of travel, he reaches a deep mountain path that cuts through two enormous peaks. The valley is filled with fog thicker than a sea of cotton. There is no more apprehension like the last time. He knows what's on the other side. He walks through the fog and can't see the tip of his nose. But he doesn't stumble, he has a preternatural sense of balance. The fog begins to clear and what he sees is not desolate grassland, but a lush and warm bamboo forest. He is back ... back at Jusenkyo.

Why is he back? It was one month ago. He was hiding out in a bar in San Francisco when he heard over the radio,

"In other news, the province of Qinghai is mourning the loss of the rebel leader Shampoo, the Matriach of the Joketsuoku tribe. Her execution at the hands of the Zunou army is a cause for great international ..."

Shampoo. It's been ten years since he'd heard her name. It's funny how a single name can bring back a lifetime of memories. Genma had stolen this scroll off an old priest. It spoke of a legendary training ground in the Bayankala mountains, in the mythical forest of Jusenkyo. As part of the training we swam across the seas to China and walked to Qinghai province. It was a long and hard trip, full of hazards. When we finally got there, the boy was very disappointed. All there was, were a couple of hundred pools with bamboo sticking out of them and an old dilapidated shack. But that didn't faze Genma. He dropped his pack and leapt onto the bamboo poles. "Come boy," he said, "are you chicken? Come take a beating!"

The boy could never back down from his father. So he joined the old man on the poles.

"Alright old man, you're going to regret bringing me to this dump."

Genma jumped at Ranma with a kick. Ranma jumps over the fat man. A stranger would have been surprised to see the old man land on the recently vacant pole and shoot directly at the boy with a punch. But, Ranma wasn't caught off guard. He magically changed his direction in mid-air and landed and axe kick on his father. He used the resulting momentum to gently land on another pole. Genma went flying into a pool.

All of a sudden Ranma noticed a frantic, pugy old Chinese man, running towards them. He said, "Ohhh. Much bad luck customer. Your friend landed in ancient curse spring of drowned panda."

Ranma didn't hear anything else as a gigantic form jetted out of the pool towards him. He was ready for his father, but instead saw a giant panda doing a perfect kyodan maneuver. The surprise allowed the panda to land the attack on Ranma, sending careening into another pool. The panda landed on the ground, beside the Chinese man. The man said, "Poor customer, he land in curse spring of drowned girl. This also a tragic story. Young girl drown here 1500 year ago. I think she should have take swimming lessons, no? Anyway, boy who knock man in panda spring fell in here."

Ranma slowly climbed out of the pool and felt odd. He seemed to be shorter. His pigtails were red now. They also now rested on these balloon-like things in his shirt. He touched them and felt his hands. Nope not balloons. All of a sudden, it clicked. They were..bbbbbreasts. What followed was an unearthly scream that shook the heavens.

"Pops, I'm going to kill you!"

--

By the time Ranma came to his senses he was on a grass mattress. He awoke to the sound of boiling water. He looked down at his chest. They were still there. He had lost his manhood, his identity. He sat up and saw his father human but bruised all over. He was sitting and drinking tea with the Chinese man.

"You have very strong son, Mr. Saotome."

"Yes, I am very proud. He just needs control."

Ranma stood up and said, "Pops, I'm sorry."

"It's alright son, we'll just train harder."

"This is the Jusenkyo guide, he's told me that hot water will reverse the effects of the curse. However, cold water will trigger it again. I'm afraid we are stuck like this."

Ranma poured hot water on himself and was glad that his clothes fit once more. He turned to the guide and said, "Are you sure you don't know of a cure?"

"Yes, but maybe Amazon know. They in this region a long time."

"Alright, take us to them."

--

Ranma was a girl again. The clear blue skies decided to develop a random rain shower just over the cursed duo. The walk did him good though. He was dry by the time they reach the Joketsuoku village. As they approached they saw a huge log beam balanced precariously between two giant posts. It seemed that the entire village was surrounding them.

The guide spoke up, "Oh very lucky, today women have tournament."

Upon the log stood two individuals. One was the epitome of an Amazon. She was large, manish and with a face only another gorilla could love.

"That's a woman?" chirped Ranma.

The Jusenkyo guide pointed to the other. She was petite and looked soft. She sported long purplish hair tied with bells and bows. She didn't look like a fighter. But the intensity in her gaze belied her soft exterior.

"That one more pretty, no? It is a great honour to see this, customer..."

The battle between the two contestants was intense. But the purple-hair fighter was clearly superior. The fight ended with the loser launched meters aways.

"She sure has some serious power," mumbled Ranma.

The guide looked around and saw the Panda man and his son eating from a table marked first prize. The crowd started to surround the strangers menacingly. Suddenly a mace came flying into the bench. The Amazon girl began yelling threateningly at the Ranma in Mandarin. Ranma couldn't understand and he looked to the guide.

"She said, what right does weak girl have to eat her prize."

This hurt Ranma's pride and his eyes sizzled with anger. "Tell her that if I defeat her, she got no problems right."

The guide translated and Ranma found herself on the challenge log facing the Amazon girl. The Amazon attacked quickly; she wielded the two thirty pound maces like batons. She was so aggressive that Ranma didn't know what to do that wouldn't badly hurt the girl. And pops used to say: "He who hesitates is lost." And Ranma hesitated. And his indecisiveness almost cost the girl her life. The Amazon came within a millimeter of braining Ranma, when his honed reflexes launched a kick, sending her sommersaulting out of control into the air. Before she came crashing into the ground, Ranma was there to catch her. He'd erred and erred badly. He'd let his pride almost kill the girl. He had lost face to himself and to all he had sworn to uphold.

"Ah ... bad. He win."

The girl got up and with fire in her eyes, grabbed Ranma by the face and kissed him full on the cheeks. It was Ranma's first kiss from a girl and it would be an understatement if he said that he was shocked.

"This bad customer, young man got 'Kiss of Death'. Amazon honour dirty, now vow to hunt you dead."

A matter of honour, Ranma understood. The Japanese had sepuku to cleans one's soul of shame. And that was what weld up within his heart. Genma tried to get his son out of the village. But no matter what he did, he could not budge his son. Genma had lifted cars with more ease. Ranma kowtowed to the Amazon and awaited his fate.

The Amazon did not understand these crazy strangers, but a vow was a vow. She had no choice. She pulled out her sword and said, "I Shampoo, I avenge my honour." With that she struck Ranma.


End file.
